Few in the modern industrialized world would disagree that today’s technology is almost beyond comprehension and changing almost as fast as the speed that most devices today operate at.
For example, today’s smart phone market has far exceeded what most thought could ever exist and the units have become almost as common as the TV in the average home. But with the advent and advancements of the ‘smart phone’, that is really just a super small computer, comes some controversial issues concerning the various applications they carry or offer.
At the head of the class in many ways has been Apple’s iPhone with the competition constantly trying to catch up or bypass the amazingly sophisticated unit. The technology giant has been on the cutting edge and sought to police itself and eliminate some of the questionable content that could otherwise be offered on their devices. But now, the company is in the hot seat, so to speak, concerning some of their currently offered applications that relate specifically to moral truth, religious concerns, and biblical views.
Today the question of ‘religious’ applications are front and center - being applauded by some and enraging others who feel either left out or even attacked by a particular phone program’s content. Such is the case with an application sponsored by ‘Exodus International’, a biblically-based group now being accused of ‘helping’ gay individuals change their ways using the Bible's teachings.
Apple is a company that has been known for avoiding and weeding out sexually explicit content, offensive speech, hateful images and more. But they are now being pressured to rule on and rule out the Exodus International application through a nation-wide campaign by pro-gay groups who demand the removal the program even though it is not a standard feature on the phone and must be purchased separately by an owner. They are offended by the program’s very existence and demand its elimination even from the available list of downloadable options.
Jeff Buchanan, senior director of Exodus International, said the app is far less controversial than some may believe. He stated to Fox News, "It's being touted as a 'gay cure' app, and nothing could be further from the truth. We present a redemptive, biblical worldview on sexuality. It's a message of love and acceptance of those that are struggling with same-sex attraction. There are other applications by other world religions currently on the Apple platform and they will need to determine if they will ban all religious applications that promote ideals or beliefs that are deemed offensive to others. This issue is more than just an app. It represents a conflicting point of view on many things - issues that grip all Americans. It extends beyond Exodus International, beyond the app store, and beyond the iPhone."
How many would have ever dreamed that there would come arguments, battles, and perhaps even legal fight concerning the very existence of religious applications and views on a smart phone? But any so-called ‘smart phone’ can be only as smart as those who design it and those who invent the applications that run on it. In the case of Exodus International, it appears that their ‘smarts’ stem from biblical wisdom and truth. And if that is the case, then regardless of whether Apple yanks them or not, their Scriptural data plan remains readily available elsewhere. If their phone program derives its contents, views and suggestions from the Scriptures, it does not matter who opposes it and for what reason. Any who really want the truth of God’s advice on important life subjects, including salvation, has the means in an advanced culture to find them – with or without an iPhone!
In John chapter seventeen 17 Jesus was praying for his disciples and, by extension, all who would follow in their footsteps. He declared the absolute veracity of Scripture beginning in verse 16. “They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.” The writer of Hebrews adds, “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." (Hebrews 4:12). Then Paul weighed in on the subject in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 writing, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.”
Only time will tell if Apple will cave in and eventually give in to the demands to ban the Exodus International app and, along with it, other religious oriented applications in general. But for those who really desire to know and learn the wisdom that matters most in life, and the solid foundational truth that never fluctuates with public opinion or pressure, the only application required is called the Bible. It is God’s word alone that proves to be fully stable, truthful, incorruptible, and also eternal as Peter clearly declared in his first epistle.
“Having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, because "All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls away, but the word of the LORD endures forever." (1 Peter 1:23-25)
Bill Breckenridge
